St. Pius X High School is no longer part of the Jefferson County Activities Association.
Superintendents from Crystal City, Dunklin R-5, Festus R-6, Grandview R-2, Hillsboro R-3, Jefferson R-7, Windsor C-1 and Perryville voted today, March 6, to oust the Crystal City Catholic school from all JCAA athletic programs, saying that Pius reportedly used undue influence to recruit at least one student in 2016 and then failed to adhere to the conference’s bylaws since then. The De Soto School District and the St. Vincent Catholic High School in Perryville also are members of the JCAA, and their superintendents abstained from the vote, as did St. Pius.
Clint Freeman, president of the Jefferson County Superintendent group, said the vote to remove St. Pius from the JCAA amended the association’s constitution.
That means starting this spring the Lancers will not participate in conference baseball games, and by the 2024-2025 school year, the school will be absent from JCAA contests in not only baseball, but also basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track, volleyball and wrestling.
“St. Pius had since 2016 to fix things,” said Freeman, the Dunklin R-5 superintendent. “It’s not a good fit anymore. We need to move forward in the JCAA.
“Overall, its best for everyone involved, and once the shock subsides, the rest of the JCAA and St. Pius will find their footing and compete elsewhere. As always, my hope is we’re doing what’s best for all the kids and community.”
St. Pius president Jim Lehn and activities director Tilden Watson were present at the meeting, and Lehn said he was given two minutes to address the committee.
“The decisions today by the public schools were disappointing, but we’ll move forward and respect their wishes,” Lehn said. “Given the fact that we weren’t able to refute any allegations and were rushed through the voting process, we will remain respectful for the rest of Jefferson County.”
For now, the St. Pius football team is still part of the I-55 Conference, but Freeman said that might not last long because some of the other schools in the I-55 are considering dissolving that conference altogether. According to the I-55 bylaws, a unanimous vote is required to remove a team, which means St. Pius would have to vote itself out.
Citing a competitive imbalance, Crystal City dropped out of the I-55 Conference after the 2019 season, and perennial frequent champion Valle Catholic left after 2020.
This is a developing story. For more information, read the March 14 issue of the Leader.